An autumn is never one moment, and a photograph usually keeps only one of them. Forty-Five Autumns is a multiple-exposure photograph of a single red-leafed tree in Forest Park, St. Louis, made from forty-five frames laid over one another, so the crown glows rust and red while its edges dissolve into soft, ghosted leaves.
The eye lands on the red crown, drops along the dark trunk to the leaf-strewn lawn, and then slides to the right, to the one thing in the frame that does not dissolve: a sharp, bark-ringed stump, a quiet reminder of a tree that no longer stands. A taller tree rises as a gray-green ghost at the upper right and balances the weight of the crown, while a curving path, a dark hedge and an evergreen keep the scene in a real park. The overcast sky is soft and mottled, and everything is held in a narrow range of rust, slate and olive.
The image follows the tradition of Pep Ventosa's layered tree portraits, with the warm, painterly color of Ernst Haas and the muted autumn restraint of Andrew Wyeth.
Forty-Five Autumns suits living rooms, dining rooms, studies and bedrooms, as well as boutique hotel lobbies, restaurants and offices where a warm, quiet focal point is wanted. The vertical format fits a narrow wall, a hallway, a stairwell or the space beside a window. Rust, deep red, walnut, oak, slate gray and cream all sit comfortably beside it. It is a natural gift for anyone with ties to St. Louis and Forest Park.
For the same stacked method, in gold: Pair with The Persistence of Autumn, a single golden tree in Webster Groves layered from seventeen exposures against scattered blue, the same ghosted-crown technique and season as this red tree, in a bright amber palette instead of rust and gray.
For the same autumn light, in one frame: Pair with Canopy of Amber and Sky, backlit foliage at Tower Grove Park in amber and gold, the same warm autumn glow caught in a single exposure instead of forty-five.
For the same park, and the same red: Pair with The Jewel Box Garden, the glass conservatory in Forest Park with deep red-rimmed lily pads across its pond, the same park and the same red, in summer daylight and sharp focus.
Available as a signed, numbered limited edition print (edition of 15) in Gallery Metal, ChromaLuxe® Metal (Gloss, Semi-Gloss or Matte), TruLife Acrylic, archival paper, canvas, and wood. Archival paper is the strongest choice: the soft, layered edges of the crown and the mottled gray sky reproduce like a painting on paper, without a sheen that would compete with the blur. ChromaLuxe® Metal suits a modern interior that wants the red crown to carry from across a room, and canvas suits a warmer, more traditional space where the painterly softness is the point.
Note: Custom and oversized photographic prints are available. Please contact the studio directly to discuss custom framing, matting, or specialized museum glass options.
An autumn is never one moment, and a photograph usually keeps only one of them. Forty-Five Autumns is a multiple-exposure photograph of a single red-leafed tree in Forest Park, St. Louis, made from forty-five frames laid over one another, so the crown glows rust and red while its edges dissolve into soft, ghosted leaves.
The eye lands on the red crown, drops along the dark trunk to the leaf-strewn lawn, and then slides to the right, to the one thing in the frame that does not dissolve: a sharp, bark-ringed stump, a quiet reminder of a tree that no longer stands. A taller tree rises as a gray-green ghost at the upper right and balances the weight of the crown, while a curving path, a dark hedge and an evergreen keep the scene in a real park. The overcast sky is soft and mottled, and everything is held in a narrow range of rust, slate and olive.
The image follows the tradition of Pep Ventosa's layered tree portraits, with the warm, painterly color of Ernst Haas and the muted autumn restraint of Andrew Wyeth.
Forty-Five Autumns suits living rooms, dining rooms, studies and bedrooms, as well as boutique hotel lobbies, restaurants and offices where a warm, quiet focal point is wanted. The vertical format fits a narrow wall, a hallway, a stairwell or the space beside a window. Rust, deep red, walnut, oak, slate gray and cream all sit comfortably beside it. It is a natural gift for anyone with ties to St. Louis and Forest Park.
For the same stacked method, in gold: Pair with The Persistence of Autumn, a single golden tree in Webster Groves layered from seventeen exposures against scattered blue, the same ghosted-crown technique and season as this red tree, in a bright amber palette instead of rust and gray.
For the same autumn light, in one frame: Pair with Canopy of Amber and Sky, backlit foliage at Tower Grove Park in amber and gold, the same warm autumn glow caught in a single exposure instead of forty-five.
For the same park, and the same red: Pair with The Jewel Box Garden, the glass conservatory in Forest Park with deep red-rimmed lily pads across its pond, the same park and the same red, in summer daylight and sharp focus.
Available as a signed, numbered limited edition print (edition of 15) in Gallery Metal, ChromaLuxe® Metal (Gloss, Semi-Gloss or Matte), TruLife Acrylic, archival paper, canvas, and wood. Archival paper is the strongest choice: the soft, layered edges of the crown and the mottled gray sky reproduce like a painting on paper, without a sheen that would compete with the blur. ChromaLuxe® Metal suits a modern interior that wants the red crown to carry from across a room, and canvas suits a warmer, more traditional space where the painterly softness is the point.
Note: Custom and oversized photographic prints are available. Please contact the studio directly to discuss custom framing, matting, or specialized museum glass options.
